Say Anything – Blu-Ray DVD 20th Anniversary Edition Review

“To know Lloyd Dobler is to love Lloyd Dobler. Diane Court is about to know Lloyd Dobler.” So goes the tagline for one of the most iconic, beloved movies in history, and as the special features on this release will suggest repeatedly – To know Say AnythingSay Anything reviews… is to love Say Anything….

Revisiting a film on its 20th Anniversary, and one that everyone already loves anyway, is probably an exercise in futility, but if the cast and director can do it, I suppose I can as well.

In the simplest terms, a High School movie about: first love, entering the odd and confusing age where “teen” suddenly disappears, and the mixed-up world young humans are forced to muddle through, Say Anything… is most interesting specifically because it is miles better than you think it is… and you already love it.

From the complex characters to the unusually adult storyline, the film is more sincere, honest, and real than perhaps anything that has ever related the lives of High Schoolers, teens, or indeed people. It delivers a stronger, more trustworthy statement on being oneself precisely because it not only never makes any such statement, but delivers us rather a muddy result of doing so (Do we really want to check in with Lloyd and Diane in 10 months? 10 years? I’m not so sure). It thus understands (and wonderfully explains) The Road Not Taken certainly better than any other film, but moreover better than virtually any person.

While filled with love, the struggle of attraction, and a great deal more, what Say Anything… is ultimately about has precious little to do with what its about… much like life. It is, in some sense at least, far more about its own understanding instead of a mere plot. What it understands is that, when you get down to it, life itself is just about little moments. They all come together to make us who we are, and in fact they are who we are. At the end, maybe it all fits together in a way that can be made into a nice summary, but you’re still scratching your head at the end and thinking, “What the hell was that story?”

There’s a great bit in the special features where Cameron Crowe and John Cusack both go over the story of the scene with the boom box, and talk about how that scene went different ways. You can even see another version in the alternate scene section. Cusack wanted to leave the boom box sitting on the hood of the car, and basically just sit there. He was apparently pretty serious about it. Crowe eventually had to more or less force the issue.

For a great many people of the appropriate age, this is without question one of the most iconic moments in film history, and it almost wasn’t. More than a wonderful scene, it is a perfect example of the film’s understanding and devotion to its ideals. Not holding up the boom box simply isn’t who Lloyd Dobler is.

Along similar lines, the movie is one of the most satisfying and almost noble expressions of optimism to be found in film, and again, specifically because it doesn’t really mention optimism. Lloyd is optimistic, but his own special brand of same, in the face of everything the world can possibly throw at him. He holds the boom box up, because (as Crowe mentions) it is an act of defiance. It is defiant optimism. Lloyd is not optimistic in spite of getting kicked in the face, his is the optimism of getting kicked in the face. He is not the guy who plays the music outside someone’s window because… well, maybe this will work. That guy sits next to the boom box on the car. No, Lloyd does it because it is what he is going to do, and the hell with what happens. It is not a plea. It’s a protest.

That’s a movie that still works 20 years later, and is still worth talking about.

The Blu-RayRay reviews is packed with special features, and the best thing about the collection of bonuses is the various ways in which they tell the story of the effort that really went into the production. It isn’t just the people talking about the movie either. 5 alternate scenes, 10 deleted scenes, and 13 extended scenes paint a very telling picture about the decisions that went into trying to make the final product as perfect as possible.

There is also a commentary track with Cameron Crowe, John Cusack, and Ione Skye, and it’s probably enough to leave this to your imagination. Watching one of your favorite movies with the stars and the director is a great bonus, and in this case it is something almost unnerving. A lot of the side story roads we go down are hilarious, and fans will love this track… and yet, it’s Lloyd, and that’s just weird.

Say Anything… 20 Years Later is an impressive featurette, with Cameron Crowe, John Cusack, Ione Skye, and John Mahoney looking back at the film and reliving the experience. Much of what comes out of this is priceless, especially Crowe’s reflections on getting Cusack on board, and how long it took.

A Conversation with Cameron Crowe is another featurette of reflection, and is mostly just an expansion of the same conversation. There’s good stuff here though, especially when it comes to the characters and the development of the idea.

I Love Say Anything… is a featurette with several comedians revisiting some of the most classic (and quoted) scenes in the film. Not the most interesting bonus to ever land on a DVD, this is nevertheless a fun mix of the film’s most memorable moments.

Perhaps the best bonus is the trivia track. To Know Say Anything… is to LoveLove reviews it is a track setting much like a commentary track, and with this option on, the film plays with trivia pop-ups displaying with great regularity. You get a range of the fairly uninteresting to nuggets that fans will enjoy. You will watch it with this on though, and you’ll enjoy it overall.

To give you some balance, there is also a vintage featurette included. From another time in the film’s promotional history, this one throws us back in time to visit the cast and crew talking up the movie before it was a legend, and it’s fun to see. Along these same lines are several trailer and TV spots for the movie that exist largely to make you feel old, but are interesting curiosities.

Get your hands on this one as soon as you can. Even if you own it already, you really don’t own it until you have all the treats on here, and it looks great on BluBlu-Ray.

Own it on Blu-Ray today!

Here’s a special treat for you. The release day was celebrated with a Lloyd Dobler attack on New York. In case you weren’t there, check them out.

Are You Screening?